


The Worst Possible Relationship Councillors

by rollie_ravioli



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Akechi Goro Lives, Akechi Goro Redemption, Akechi Goro is Bad at Feelings, Bets & Wagers, Bisexual Sakamoto Ryuji, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Oblivious Kitagawa Yusuke, Pining, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27566422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rollie_ravioli/pseuds/rollie_ravioli
Summary: Ryuji is struggling with a new crush, and he decides to go get advice from his best friend, Akira.Only problem is that Akira isn't home, and Ryuji is stuck with Akira's boyfriend and possibly the last person he wants advice from: Goro Akechi.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Sakamoto Ryuji, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Kitagawa Yusuke/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 22
Kudos: 352





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place a few years after the end of the game. Mostly everything is the same as in canon, except that Akechi is alive and in a committed relationship with Akira, and the two are living together now in Tokyo.

As Ryuji lifted his arm to knock on the apartment door, he noticed for the first time that he was sweating, a lot. Why is he sweating? He was supposed to be a fearless member of the Phantom Thieves, not some guy who gets nervous from the idea of just talking to his best friend. Because that is all he’s doing, going to talk with his best friend.

After knocking on the door, he used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his forehead as he impatiently waited for the approaching footsteps from the other side of the door to arrive. Ryuji had been experiencing a lot of strange feelings lately, and if anyone could help him work through it, it would be Akira, his best friend, who had been there for him when he was working through his feelings about the track team, so hopefully he could help him work through his latest issues in a calm and productive way.

Those hopes went out the window, however, when the apartment door was opened not by former leader of Phantom Thieves Akira Kurusu, but instead the man who tried to assassinate him, Goro Akechi. 

“Sakamoto.” He said with a very noticeable edge. 

“Uh, hi Akechi!” Ryuji said awkwardly. “Is Akira here?”

“He went to the store a little while ago.” Akechi explained. 

“Oh,” Ryuji couldn’t hide his disappointment. He really wanted to talk to Akira now, because if he had to wait, he wasn’t sure he would have the nerve to talk later. “Do you think I could wait here for him to get back?”

Akechi was quiet for a moment, and his face seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion. “Sure.” He eventually said, opening the door wider.

“Thanks!” he said as he walked in and quickly sat down on the nearby couch. Akechi slowly walked back to the apartment’s small kitchen, where he was in the middle of making a coffee. 

Ryuji used this as an opportunity to take in Akechi’s appearance. He wore pyjama pants, a plain black sweater and a comfy-looking pair of slippers, with his hair tied back into a small ponytail. As he moved around the kitchen, Ryuji noticed that he would occasionally reach his hand into his sweater pocket and hold on to something there. 

When he finished making his coffee, he turned around and Ryuji spotted some small dark circles underneath his eyes. He raised the pot he had in his hand to Ryuji and lifted his eyebrows as a nonverbal question, but Ryuji just shook his head. The last thing he needed right now was more nervous energy. 

Akechi moved to sit down in a chair opposite the couch and took small sips from his coffee. Even though he was very obviously tired, he still sat on the chair with his back completely straight, taking sips from his mug just like the Queen of England or some shit. Ryuji struggled to think of what Akira saw in him, not even mentioning the whole attempted murderer thing.

Ryuji knew, of course, that Akechi had changed his ways and had been seeking help to deal with all of his trauma, and he knew that Akira trusted and, for some reason, loved him, but none of that changed just how awkward it was to be around him sometimes, even a year and half after everything. 

After his first few sips, Akechi seemed to take more of a notice of his guest, eyes travelling over him before he said “stop bouncing your leg. Our downstairs neighbors will get pissed off.” 

Ryuji hadn’t even noticed his leg. “Oh, sorry.” He responded in a quiet voice. Akechi’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched him. “When do you think Akira will get back?” he asked, desperate to finally be relieved of being forced to stay alone with a man who he thought probably hated his guts.

“How should I know. I told you he left only a few minutes ago.” Ryuji could easily hear the irritation in his voice. He wasn’t sure whether it was a side effect of his tiredness or just Akechi being Akechi. 

“Right. Sorry.” 

Akechi seemed to notice Ryuji uncharacteristically quiet behavior, and looked like he was about to say something before a loud knock came from the door. Akechi looked over with a scowl and slowly walked over and opened the door. 

Before Akechi, could say anything, an older, stern, woman’s voice came from the hallway. “You need to stop making such a racket up here, young man!” So, this is probably one of those downstairs neighbors, Ryuji thought to himself.

Akechi looked back at his house guest with disdain before turning back to his present issue. “I apologize, Ito-san...” Akechi started before he got interrupted again.

“Apologies won’t do enough! There was that constant thumping a few minutes ago, and then there is all that loud banging almost every! Single! night!” Ryuji could see Akechi stiffen up from behind, and he couldn’t help but let out a small snicker. “There needs to be some permanent change, or I will talk to the landlord!” 

“The landlord won’t do anything Ito-san, we aren’t doing anything against the rules…” Akechi’s seemed as though he was trying to maintain his charming detective prince attitude with this lady, but it was obvious that his patience was waning. 

“I don’t care about no damn rules! Me and my husband can barely hear ourselves think with you kids up here!” 

“Once again, I apologize for that. We’ll try to be quieter from now on.” 

“You better, or else there will be consequences.” 

“Uh huh.” Ryuji let out a small laugh at how done Akechi seemed with this old lady.

As she started to turn to leave, Ryuji could hear her muttering loudly, “Can’t believe this building would allow a couple of queers like you in this building to begin with.” Ryuji froze at the comment. He saw from the corner of his eye that Akechi had his fists clenched so hard it looked as though he would draw blood. 

“Actually, Ito-san,” Akechi began, losing all notions of kindness in his voice, “I think from now on we will take care to be even louder from now on. Just so you are always aware of what kind of unholy activities are taking place right about that ugly, old head of yours.” With that last comment he slammed the door shut before Ito-san could protest. 

The former detective took a moment to let out a small breath before turning back to the apartment, facing a slack-jawed Ryuji. Akechi’s mouth grew into a small, smug smile before moving back to pick up his coffee and taking a sip from it. He had yet to sit back down, which Ryuji wanted to ask him about before he raised his left foot and began stomping hard and fast on the floor beneath him a total of 10 times. His smug smile grew wider as he then took his seat. Ryuji could just barely make out the angry voices coming from below. 

“No matter how progressive things seem to be, it seems that Akira and I unfortunately still have to deal with many of these types of people.” He said with a sigh, gesturing to the apartment beneath them. “Just one of the many issues with our society, I guess.”

“Right.” 

Akechi gave him a puzzled look. “You don’t seem as loud as usual. Is something wrong?”

“It’s okay! You don’t have to pretend to worry about me!” Ryuji tried to play everything off. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Goro Akechi about his feelings. 

Akechi’s face grew into a scowl. “Unfortunately, I have somehow grown to actually give a shit about all of you against my own will, so I would suggest you spill whatever it is you are busy ruminating on, before I’m forced to find another way to extract that information.”

“Extract… that… how exactly would that other way work?” Ryuji struggled to hide the hint of fear in his voice.

Goro merely smirked at him and said, “I have my methods.”

“Dude, you are seriously scary sometimes.”

“Good. Now spill.” Goro commanded with a piercing glare.

Ryuji remained quiet for a few seconds as he thought over his current problem. Talking with Akechi is not exactly something he wanted to do, but he wasn’t sure he actually had a choice, and given that Akira didn’t seem to be coming home anytime soon, he couldn’t really on him coming to the rescue. 

“Well, uhm………” he started before trailing off. He chanced a look at Akechi, who was still giving him one of the most intense glares he had ever seen. Ryuji decided to switch methods. “Umm, Akechi, when did you realize that you were, uh, um, well, you know?”

“No. I don’t know.” 

“I mean, when did you figure out that you’re a… you know.” Akechi continue to give him a blank stare. “I mean, when did you realize that you were, like, into guys.” He lowered his voice as he spoke the last few words, scared someone might overhear them, even though the apartment was empty. 

Akechi’s eyes widened. “What?” 

“I mean, like, how did you know? What made you realize it?” Ryuji did whatever he could to avoid looking into the other’s eyes.

The former detective remained quiet for a moment before asking “Why do you want to know?” voice suddenly going very serious. 

“Uh…. I’m just curious.” 

Akechi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Ryuji’s eyes went wide. “No, no, no, no, no!” he quickly refuted. “I swear, I’m just wondering.” 

“And you decided to come all the way across the city, this early in the morning just because you were curious?” Akechi’s gripped the arm of his chair so hard it looked like he was going to tear it off. “You know, I may have been a fraud, but I do know a thing or two about detective work, believe or not. And your story is what would be seen as ‘suspicious.’”

“No, I just… I’m not…” Ryuji struggled to come up with the words. “I’ve just… been thinking a lot about… that kind of stuff, lately. And since I…”

Akechi cut him off as he stood up from his chair quickly. “…and since you already knew one of our kind, you thought you could come over here and… and… make fun of me for it or something, is that it?!” Akechi was almost yelling, but he had a hint of fear in his eyes. “I’ve been mocked and looked down upon my whole life, but I thought that…”

Ryuji quickly stood up as well. “No, that’s not what’s going on, I swear!”

“Then what is?”

Ryuji’s eyes went to his shoes. “I… I… I think I might… be… like that too.”

Akechi froze, processing what Ryuji had just said. After about a minute he opened his mouth. “And that is what you came to speak with Akira about.” Ryuji nodded. Akechi reached a hand up to squeeze the bridge of his nose. “I… apologize for my outburst. I’ve been trying to work through my anger and insecurities, but it appears that some areas are still a sore spot.” Akechi sat back down in his chair. Ryuji did the same.

“I... It’s no problem, dude. I get it.”

“I would assume so, considering… what you…” Akechi trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

“Yeah.” 

They both sat in silence for what felt like hours, realizing that this must be one of the most awkward conversations that either of them had ever had. 

Eventually, Akechi decided to bite the bullet. “Well, to answer your earlier question,” his voice seemed much higher pitched than usual, “I don’t know if there was ever a time when I truly realized that I was attracted to men.” 

“Huh? Whaddaya mean?”

“Well, I had never really found women to be any attractive, and I suppose there were other boys I saw growing up who were quite handsome, but I had always been too angry at the world to actually put any thought into my sexuality.” Akechi looked off to the side as he continued, “I never really thought about it until I met Akira that is. He burst into my life and caused… a lot of emotional turmoil for me. 

“At the time, I think I had confused my love for him with my jealousy, and I unfortunately did not realize what my feelings actually were until it was too late.” His eyes had shifted to now looking at his feet. “Luckily, I was eventually given the chance to… correct my mistakes in that area.” He paused for a moment and let out a small sigh. “So that is how I realized I was gay. I’m not very sure it will be all that helpful to whatever it is you’re going through, however, as my case is quite original. Although, I suppose I could try to offer my own advice to whatever your present situation is.”

Ryuji took a moment to process Akechi deciding to tell what felt like his entire life story to him. “Um, right.” He took a moment to put his thoughts together. “Well, it’s not like I don’t like girls or something. I’ve always found girls hot. It’s just… recently I’ve found myself thinking about… a guy. In the same way that I think about girls.”

“Ah.” the former detective pondered over it for a moment. “Well, do you suppose you could be bisexual, then?”

“I don’t know, man. I mean I’ve never… felt this way about other guys before.” 

“Well, I don’t see how that would change anything. If my memory serves me correct, the definition of bisexual means being sexually attracted to more than one gender. You were already attracted to women, and now there is a man you are attracted to. The volume of either group should not affect that.” He explained nonchalantly. 

“Yeah, but I’m not really sure how I feel about saying that yet. Like it’s just one guy.” Ryuji’s arms were waving around a lot as he spoke, and his leg had started bouncing up and down again. “And, maybe I’m just making this stuff up or something.”

“Well, I don’t think you would be getting so worked up if you were making it up. And you said you think about this man the same way you think about women, and unless you’ve been making up those feelings, then I would assume that your feelings about said man are genuine.”

“Dude, you don’t have to like… analyze me or whatever.” 

“Ah.” Akechi’s eyes were wide open. “I apologize.”

“It’s okay, man. It’s just, you know, thinking about this stuff has been keeping me up at night and stuff. I came to talk to Akira about it, cause you know, he’s my best friend, and he’s always been good at helping me out with this kind of stuff.” 

“But now you’re stuck with me instead.” Did Akechi seem kinda… sad?

“No! Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s okay. I understand that I may not have the most welcoming attitude when it comes to these topics.”

Ryuji snorted. “No kidding.” 

They were silent for a few more moments, both trying to find the best way to move the conversation forward. Once again, Akechi was the first to speak up. “So, what is it about this mystery man that makes you feel this way?”

“Ryuji blinked a few times before answering. “Well… I don’t know. I mean we’ve known each other for a long time, but these feelings kind of only just showed up now. I mean like, I just like spending time with him, and he’s very, like, good… looking, and stuff. And when I think about him, my chest gets all, like tight, and stuff, you know?” 

Akechi pondered that for second. “You said you’ve known him for a long time…” His eyes suddenly widened, and then quickly clenched his jaw and furrowed his brow. “You don’t have a crush on Akira, do you? Because if you try to steal….” He started with a raised voice before Ryuji cut him off. 

“No!” Ryuji quickly replied. “It’s not Akira! I mean, I love the guy, but he’s my bro, it’s not like that.”

Akechi still looked slightly skeptical. “Okay…” 

Ryuji stayed quiet for a moment. “Do you promise not to tell anyone else?”

Akechi’s eyes grew wide. “You…” he struggled to find his words before starting again with a small hint of a smile, “as childish as it is to talk about crushes with each other, yes I do promise?” 

Ryuji let out a long sigh. “It’s Yusuke.” 

“Kitagawa…” he lifted his hand to his chin and looked off to the side. “And have you thought about confessing your feelings to him?”

“What!? No!” Ryuji stood up and started pacing. “Why would I do that?”

“Well, perhaps he would like you back? I mean, I had always assumed that Kitagawa was also attracted to men.” 

“Okay, but I don’t even know if my feelings are for real!” 

Akechi kept his hand on his chin as he looked at Ryuji. “Well, considering that you are presently blushing and getting all nervous at the thought of talking to Kitagawa about this is evidence to the contrary.”

“Stop being so smart about everything!” 

Akechi smirked. “Well I believe my smarts are actually assisting you in confronting your feelings right now.”

Ryuji huffed as he sat back on the couch. “Asshole.” Akechi’s smirk grew wider. “So… what if I do tell Yusuke? How do I even know if he would like me back? How did that happen with you and Akira?”

“Well, with that it was much more complicated than just confessing my feelings…” he looked away as he thought back, “It was more of the two of us letting out all our feelings because we both thought I was going to cease existing the next day… with all the emotions that were already brought up, it was actually kind of easy to confess.” He gave a half-hearted laugh. “But, as the apparent expert in revealing their deepest darkest secrets to others, I can tell you that it does kind of feel better once they are out in the open.”

“Hang on, didn’t you try to kill us after you revealed those secrets?”

“That’s not… that’s irrelevant. But, for someone who used to delve into the minds of criminals and steal their desires, it is quite pathetic to be afraid of something as small as a tiny crush.” Akechi had a devilish smile across his face.

“Dude, that’s effing harsh!” Ryuji complained. “And what if he hates me?”

Akechi gave him a blank stare. “I do seem to recall your group forgiving me despite all that I’ve done.”

“…right.” Ryuji thought over it all again. Maybe there was a chance that Yusuke might like him back. He did always seem to act nice around him, and there was no reason to believe he would stop being friends with him if Ryuji came out as bi, as he was still friends with Akira and Akechi. “Okay, maybe you’re right…”

“I am.”

“…but how am I supposed to tell him?”

Akechi thought it over for a second. “You could go see him this afternoon.” He suggested. 

“And do what?” 

“Tell him.”

Ryuji gave him a confused stare. “Just like that? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” 

“Well as you know, my experience with this subject is mostly just yelling out my feelings whenever emotions are already running high.” 

“Right.” Ryuji thought over it some more. “But what do you do if you want to ask Akira something important? Like, how did you ask him to move in with you?”

“Actually, he asked me to move in with him.” 

“Okay, but isn’t there any other important thing you’ve had to ask him?”

Akechi moved his hand back to his sweater pocket, seemingly playing with something in there. “Not really.” He said through slightly gritted teeth. 

“Well, what would you do if you had to ask him something?” 

“I don’t know.” Akechi had a large frown on his face. 

Ryuji squinted at the former detective. “Bro, are you okay? You look kinda pissed right now?”

Akechi’s eyes widened, before he quickly pulled his arm from his pocket and tried to look relaxed. “Yes, I’m perfectly fine.” He said in a voice that was just a little too high pitched. 

“I know you think I’m dumb, but I’m not that dumb. You made me tell you what was bothering me, so know you have to spill whatever it is to me.” Ryuji stared Akechi down expectantly.

Akechi stared back for a few minutes, before he sighed, said “fine,” and reached back into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. 

Ryuji’s eyes widened. “is that…”

“Yes.”

“And you’re going to…”

“Yes.”

“Shit, man! That’s so exciting!” Ryuji was standing up again, made to go and hug Akechi but then decided against it. “When are you going to ask?” 

Akechi stayed quiet before letting out “I don’t know.”

“Whaddaya mean you don’t know?!”

Akechi let out aloud sigh. “I’ve been trying to think of the best way to do it, but nothing comes to mind. I’ve had it for a while now, trying to think of the best way to ask, but…”

“How long have you had it?”

Akechi looked at his shoes. “Almost 6 months.”

Ryuji let out an excited laugh. “Hell, man! And you were calling me a scaredy cat!”

“I do believe that asking for someone’s hand in marriage is a little more high stakes than confessing about some small crush!” Akechi snarled at Ryuji. 

“I would’ve thought that the Detective Prince Goro Akechi would be able to deduce some way to ask him after 3 months.” Ryuji laughed in between each word. “You’re even more of a chicken then I am!”

Akechi desperately tried to hide how red in the face he had become. “Are you done yet?”

Ryuji’s laughs finally started dying down, and he took a seat once again. “Man, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one scared of confessing to their crush.”

“He’s not my crush! And this isn’t really confessing!” Akechi almost yelled out. “I’m… asking him to spend his life with me. Me, who has lied to and hurt him.” Akechi suddenly got very quiet.

“Hey man, you know he forgives you for that. And he loves you. A lot. He’s told me about it.”

Akechi merely grunted in response. Ryuji never thought he would be in the place where he would have to comfort Goro Akechi. Then a smile crossed his face.

“How about we make a deal?” 

Akechi looked up to meet Ryuji’s eyes. “What deal?”

“We both agree to stop being such scaredy cats by the next Saturday. You pop the question to Akira, and I will talk to Yusuke.” 

Akechi pondered that for a moment. “And what if either of us fails to do so?”

“If one of us fails, they have to….” Ryuji thought it over. “If one of us fails, then the other person gets control of their social media accounts for one hour and can do anything they want.”

A wide, slightly wicked smile crossed Akechi’s face. Ryuji didn’t want to know what kind of idea he was getting. “Deal.” He said, holding out his hand. Ryuji shook it. 

As they made their deal, Akira had apparently chosen that moment to arrive home. “What’s going on here?” he asked as Morgana hopped out of his bag.

Akechi stood up and walked over to his boyfriend. “Oh, just a friendly wager, that’s all.” He gave his boyfriend a pick peck on the cheek. 

“Why does that sound kind of threatening?” Akira asked as he slid his arm around Goro’s waist. 

“It’s nothing you need to worry about.” 

Ryuji stood up to make his leave, as he walked towards the door, he laughed and said “If anything, you should be getting exci…. Ow! What the hell!” he was cut off by Akechi kicking him in the shin and giving him a strong glare.

“The clock is ticking, Sakamoto.” Akechi said as Akira gave a puzzled look. 

“Come a week from now and you’ll regret acting so cocky, you jerk.” Ryuji continued to rub his leg where Akechi had kicked it. 

“We’ll see.” He simply said as Ryuji left the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi decides to force Ryuji to act on his feelings when he is certainly not emotionally prepared for it. Will it work out for Ryuji, or will it just blow up in his face?

The bell jingled as Ryuji entered Leblanc, spotting Akira behind the bar, serving a steaming cup of coffee to Akechi, while Yusuke and Futaba sat in a booth, arguing about Featherman. 

Both Akira and Akechi looked up when the heard the door open. Akira gave him a wide smile, while Akechi shot him a knowing look as he gestured towards the artist. 

“Your usual, Ryuji?” Akira asked as he grabbed a new mug.

“Thanks, Akira.” He said as took a seat next to Akechi at the bar.

Akechi took a sip from his coffee before turning to Ryuji with a slight smirk. “So, have you made any progress on our little deal yet?”

Ryuji glanced at Yusuke, who was still in a heated discussion with Futaba. “No.” he shamefully replied. Upon Akechi’s self-satisfied smirk growing wider, he whispered, “hey, don’t get smug. I don’t see a ring on Akira’s finger either.” Akechi’s smirk quickly turned into a frown. 

“The right time just hasn’t presented itself yet.” He replied quietly. 

“Oh, suuurrrreeee.” 

Akechi looked like he was about to respond with some snarky comment when the topic of their discussion spoke up, “right time for what?” Akira asked as he placed a cup of coffee in front of Ryuji. 

Akechi’s eyes went wide. “Nothing!” he quickly said. His boyfriend gave him a confused look. He quickly tried to compose himself. “Me and Ryuji just have a little project we are working on, that’s all.”

“Do I get to know what this project is?” Akira asked while leaning in to give Goro a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“No.” he replied with a smug smile.

“Well, not yet.” Ryuji snickered out before Akechi kicked him in the shin. “Ow! Quit doing that!”

Akira’s face was a puzzled one again, but he quickly just ignored his confusion and went to go and sit down with the café’s two other occupants and join in on whatever they were arguing about.

“Hey man,” Ryuji said as he turned to Akechi, “if the right time doesn’t show up in the next couple of days then…” 

“I know.” Akechi hissed out. “I’ll figure it out.” All of a sudden, a loud laugh came from behind them, as Akira was roaring with laughter from something Futaba had said. Akechi turned back to him with a smirk. “Besides, I think you have something of your own that needs to be done.” 

Ryuji looked over at Yusuke, who was animatedly talking about his latest art piece. “I know,” he let out, while his cheeks reddened. “I’m just, waiting to get him alone.” 

Akechi gave him a devilish smile. “I think I can arrange that.” Akechi stood up all of a sudden. 

“Hey! Whaddaryou…” Ryuji quickly said.

“Sakura, I am unfamiliar with this Featherman show. Perhaps you can tell me about it?” Akechi asked to the booth. 

Futaba’s eyes widened quickly as a smile started to form on her face. “You want to know more about featherman!?” she asked. Akechi nodded. “OHMYGOD! IT’S THE BEST! Sorry but I can’t just explain it to you Mr. detective, you’re going to have to come and watch the whole first season right away!” she said as she stood up from the booth and started walking to the door. 

“I appreciate it. Akira, perhaps you would like to join as well? I’m sure you can close up Leblanc for just an hour or two.” He asked, holding out his hand expectantly. 

Akira blinked in surprise. “Uh, sure.” He said as he grabbed Goro’s hand and followed him out the door. As they walked by, Akechi gave Ryuji the most self-satisfied smirk he had ever seen. Before they left, he could just barely hear Akira say, “Goro, you watch featherman all the time…”  
Once the door closed behind them, the café was quiet, with just Ryuji and Yusuke left there. Ryuji looked towards the artist, who was currently sipping at his own cup of coffee. Ryuji stood up and moved to sit opposite him.

“Hey Yusuke.”

“Ryuji.” Yusuke said in his smooth, deep voice that Ryuji always thought of when…. 

“No! I can’t think about that right now. I can’t lose to Akechi.” He thought to himself. 

The café was caught in a bit of awkward silence for a few minutes, as Yusuke continued to sip from his coffee and Ryuji was caught up in an internal battle about how to bring up the fact that he had a big fat crush on him. 

Eventually, Ryuji finally worked up the nerve to speak. “H…hey Yusuke.” He stuttered out. Yusuke looked up at him curiously. “I…”

“One moment Ryuji.” He said as he then started ruffling through his bag and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil.

“What are you….”

“Your face… it is showing such an interesting display of emotions right now.” He said as he began sketching on the piece of paper. “It’s nervousness, mixed with fondness and confusion. I was simply struck with need to capture it.” He said as he paused to make a frame out of his fingers and view Ryuji through it. 

“Uh…” Ryuji let out as he processed what Yusuke had just said. 

“Please try not to speak to much, I must capture your expression as it is now.” Yusuke said, focusing on the drawing on the table. 

Ryuji’s face had significantly reddened, and a little bit of frustration had begun to enter his expression. “Hey man, would you stop drawing for just one minute? I’m kinda trying to tell you something important!” Yusuke looked up at him curiously. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just, argh, I’ feeling so many different things right now I don’t even know how to feel!” 

“Perhaps you should take a second. I often find a few moments of quiet are quite useful for composing my own various thoughts.” 

“Right.” Ryuji took his advice, and sat quietly for a few seconds, taking a few sips from his coffee. Once he finished, he looked back at Yusuke, who was looking at him with a confused yet fond look. He wished he had Yusuke’s talent for art so he could capture that expression.

“Well,” he began, after clearing his throat for no particular reason. “there’s been this thing I’ve been thinking about a lot. Well, uh…. I…” Ryuji looked up from his hands to see Yusuke staring back at him with a confused look. “Well… I’ve kind of had this crush, uh, for a while. And I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but, uh, I thought maybe I should say something now.” 

Ryuji avoided eye contact. After a few seconds of silence, he looked up to see Yusuke, who had his hand on his chin and was looking at the table. 

“Well stop being so quiet, dude! Say something!” Ryuji yelled out. Yusuke, startled, looked back up at Ryuji.

“Well, I do believe that Ann is already taken, so perhaps revealing your true feelings may not be so wise.” Yusuke finally said.

Ryuji’s brow furrowed. “Ann… what? Why are you talking about Ann?”

“Well, you said you had a crush on someone you had been friends with for a long time. I had assumed it was Ann, considering how much the two of you seem to bicker like an old married couple. Although perhaps it could be Makoto…” 

Ryuji’s eyes went wide. “What? No, I don’t have a crush on either of them!” 

“Well then, who…”

“It’s you, you idiot!” Ryuji yelled out.

Yusuke was shocked silent. He raised his hand a little, as if to grab his chin and think, but then lowered it. The only sound that could be heard was Ryuji’s leg bouncing up and down like a jackhammer. Eventually, Yusuke decided to speak up, “Well, I can’t possibly see why it would be me, but I am flattered, nonetheless. And, in the spirit of confessions, I must admit that I have found you to be aesthetically pleasing to look at, as well as a joyous companion for some time now.”

“Huh… aestheti-what?” Ryuji said, the confusion clear on his face. 

“I suppose what I am saying is that I have also found you to be attractive, Ryuji.” Yusuke said, avoiding Ryuji’s puzzled gaze. 

“You… are you saying that… you like me?” 

“I suppose I am.” 

The café was silent for a moment before Ryuji let out, “Damn, that bastard Akechi was right.”

“Hmm? What about Akechi?” Yusuke asked. 

“Uh, nothing.” Ryuji looked over at Yusuke, who was looking back at him the same way Ryuji had seen him look at Sayuri. “So uh, did you ever want to maybe go on a date with me?” Ryuji asked hesitantly. 

Yusuke thought over it for a moment before answering, “That does sound like a good idea.” 

“You will?” Ryuji almost yelled. 

Yusuke gave Ryuji a soft smile. “Yes.” 

Ryuji rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and smiled back. “Cool.” He said, trying to play off his rapidly increasing heart rate. “I guess we can talk about what do now.”

“That does sound like a good idea, but if you would let me, I do wish to complete this sketch here.” Yusuke replied, gesturing to his pencil drawing of Ryuji’s face from just a few minutes ago. 

“Uh, yeah, sure. I guess we can talk about our plans while you draw?” 

Yusuke looked up at him. “Gladly.” he said with a wide smile.

After about two hours’ worth of Featherman, Akira, Goro, and Futaba finally returned to the Café to find Ryuji and Yusuke, sitting next to each, as Yusuke seemed to be in the process of critiquing a drawing that Ryuji had made. 

“I do not believe my hair is that specific shade. It is closer to a navy blue than turquoise.” The artist said, looking over Ryuji shoulder.

“What are you talking about?! It’s totally you, dude!” Ryuji said while aggressively gesturing towards his drawing. Akira walked over and saw a rather childish drawing of what appeared to be Yusuke, right next to a frankly terrific sketch of Ryuji. That one must be Yusuke’s work, Akira thought to himself.

“I do believe my eyebrows are also too far apart.” Yusuke replied with a hand on his chin.

“What’s going on here?” Akechi asked with a smirk on his face. 

“Yusuke is saying I’m bad at drawing!” 

Yusuke put his hand on Ryuji’s. “While it is nowhere near my level, it is a decent start, Ryuji. With some teaching from me, you could be improving in no time.” 

Ryuji’s cheeks reddened in an instant. Akechi walked up to Ryuji. “It seems things went well for you, then. Perhaps it is time for me to say, ‘I told you so.’”

“Yeah, you were right.” Ryuji half whispered to Akechi, avoiding the curious gaze of Akira from behind the bar. “But that means it is your turn, or else…” 

Akechi looked back at his boyfriend, who was in the middle grinding up a fresh batch of coffee beans. “I guess so.”

Ryuji grew a devilish smile. “Ha! Now it’s your turn to embarrassingly confess your feelings, jerk.” He said to Akechi while giving him a light punch in the arm. “Have fun, or else I get your twitter, and your Instagram, and your food blog….”

“I know!” Akechi snarled at Ryuji. “I’ll make you eat your words, Sakamoto. I have a plan.”

“Well you only have a few more days. Tick tock, Akechi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Calls you dude, but like, romantically.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi finally works up the nerves to put his proposal plan into effect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exists in a world wear same sex marriage is legal in Japan

Goro clenched his fist around the small box in his pant pocket as Akira walked into their apartment.

“Honey! I’m home!” He called out as he shed his coat and pulled his shoes off. “Morgana went home with Ann, so we get the apartment to ourselves for the night.”

Perfect, Akechi thought to himself. “How was class?” he called back.

Akira let out a loud groan. “It was exhausting. I think I slept through half of it.” He said as he dropped onto the couch.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that.” Goro replied from across the room. _He’s exhausted, he’s probably not in a good mood, he probably won’t say yes if he’s in a bad mood, he deserves bette…._

Goro clenched his fist even harder as he attempted to stop his anxiety from putting these negative thoughts in his head. _I know Akira better than that_ , he thought to himself, _a night out is probably just what he needs. And he won’t say no, he has made it abundantly clear on multiple occasions that you are the love of his life, for some strange reason. Plus, if you don’t do this tonight, then Ryuji will get control over all of your social media, and who knows that idiot would do with that power._ Akechi shuddered at the thought.

So, Goro pulled his hand out of his pocket and sat down next to his boyfriend. “Well, I think I may have just the thing to make your night.”

Akira turned to look at Goro. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“Dinner, on me, in one hour.”

Akira’s eyes widened, a smirk growing on his face. “I get to eat dinner that’s on you? Like, while you’re naked? That’s pretty kinky of you, Detective Prince.” Akira had a wild, goofy smile as he raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively. Akechi responded by slamming a pillow into Akira’s face.

“Get you mind out of the gutter!” Akira laughed loudly as he grabbed a pillow of his own and threw it at Goro, who didn’t even flinch as it hit his shoulder. “I meant that I booked us a dinner at that new restaurant in Kichijoji.”

Akira, finally calming down from his laughing fit, gave Goro a concerned look. “Isn’t that place kind of expensive? I don’t want you to go broke because of me.”

“Actually, I can see no better reason to go broke than to treat you to a nice dinner every once in a while.”

Akira’s face reddened in an instant. “And you say I’m the sentimental one…” he whispered to himself.

“Nevertheless, if you do want to go, I would suggest getting ready now. It is a fairly high-end establishment, after all, and I don’t know that they would appreciate one of us showing up in sweatpants.” Goro said as he got up to pull Akira off the couch.

“Uh huh, I’m on it.” He said as he gave Akechi a quick peck on the cheek and then ran off to the bedroom.

As Akira got changed, Goro pulled the box out of his pocket and flipped it open, stopping his anxiety from fearing that it had fallen out, somehow. The ring was black on the outside and gold on the inside, with some small diamonds forming a line around the centre. Seeing the ring again and realizing that tonight was the night caused his heart rate to shoot up, making him wonder if maybe he could just wait for another night to do it. But, the idea of Ryuji getting a hold of his food blog caused his anxiety to spike even more, so he figured proposing to the love of his life was the easier choice.

After about a half hour, Akira walked out of the bedroom. “Ready to go?” he asked, and when Goro looked up, he froze.

Standing in front of his, Akira was wearing what appeared to be a new black suit that fit him perfectly, managing to showcase all his best features. As Goro’s eyes trailed further up, he saw that Akira had apparently decided to go without his glasses, showcasing his beautiful eyes and the makeup that he had apparently decided to put on. Akechi suddenly felt a little underdressed, despite the fact that he was also wearing a suit.

Akira giggled as he watched his boyfriend’s eyes study him. “Like what you see?” he asked as he put one hand on his hip and gave him a model pose.

Goro gulped. “When did you get that suit?”

“I… um… bought it for a job interview. Thought I could use it for tonight.” he explained as he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “So, are you ready to go?”

Goro stood up and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend’s. “Yeah, let’s go.”

The two left their apartment and got into the elevator heading down. As the elevator doors closed, Goro looked at his boyfriend, who happened to be staring right back at him. The two slowly inched their heads closer together, lips just inches apart… before the elevator doors opened again, letting the residents in the apartment directly below theirs onto the elevator. The two boys quickly moved away from one another but kept hold of each other’s hands.

For the first few seconds, there was a very uncomfortable silence in the elevator. But to make it even more uncomfortable, Ito-san decided to speak. “You know, the two of seem to be making even more noise than usual, lately. It’s almost as if you are trying to make noise now.” she said in a stern voice.

Akechi let out a small snort. “Wonder how that happened.” he replied as he stared daggers at Ito-san.

Ever since their conversation, Goro had gone out of his way to make as much noise as possible, constantly stomping around the apartment, “accidentally” dropping pots in the kitchen, and some more adult methods involving a bed frame constantly hitting the wall every night. Normally, Akira would try to stop him from acting out this way, but he also knew that for the older pair, it wasn’t really the noise that bothered them. They would probably rather have a rock band living above them then a young gay couple.

“If this keeps up, we will have to get landlord involved.” The older woman warned.

Goro merely responded with a half-hearted “Uh-huh.” as he rolled his eyes while looking towards Akira. Akira tried to hide his snort.

Ito-san, who apparently was not happy with her threats being pushed aside, looked about ready to burst when the elevator announced their arrival at the ground floor. The two teens quickly made their way out of the apartment lobby and took off in the direction of the train station.

“I’m sorry about that.” Goro said to Akira as they walked.

“Hey, it’s not your fault that our downstairs neighbors hate us.” Akira said as he pulled his boyfriend up next to his body. “They are being totally unreasonable about everything.”

“I know, but perhaps if I had not spent the past week deliberately trying to piss her off, then she wouldn’t have been so confrontational in the elevator.” Akechi replied while looking off to the side.

“Maybe, but she totally had all your torment coming. She kind of sucks, and she’s a bit of a homophobe, too.” Akira squeezed Goro’s hand. “Besides, nothing could bring down my mood when I’m spending my night with you.”

Goro tried to hide his blush by turning his head away, muttering “sap” as he did.

Akira gave a light laugh and leaned in closer. “Yeah, especially when you are about to treat me to some fancy high-end dinner. This whole boyfriend thing just keeps turning out in my favor!” he said with a laugh.

Goro gave Akira a light push in response as they both entered the station. They quickly made their way to the line that would lead them to Kichijoji and began waiting for the next train.

“Akira! Akechi!” a familiar voice came out of nowhere all of a sudden, and Goro felt all his muscles clench at once.

Soon enough, Ryuji Sakamoto was running over to the pair, Yusuke Kitagawa following behind him. The former athlete tossed his arm around Akira’s neck and pulled him in for a quick hug. “So, what are you two lovebirds up to! A little date night action, eh?” he asked as he lightly poked Akira in the side and made suggestive faces at the two of them.

“As a matter of fact, that is what we’re doing.” Akechi responded calmly.

“Cool! Same with me and Yusuke!” Ryuji said cheerfully as he took his arm off Akira and placed it around his new partner.

“Ohh, first date?” Akira asked with a wide smile. When he had found out that two of his best friends were dating, he was ecstatic. He had told Akechi once about how he thought the two would make a great couple, which is partly the reason why he was pretty sure that Yusuke would reciprocate Ryuji’s feelings.

“Actually, this would be our third outing together.” Yusuke said pridefully.

“Third! Didn’t you guys only get together like 3 days ago?” Akira almost yelled.

Ryuji had a small blush as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah…” he said in a small voice.

Before Akira could interrogate them anymore, Ryuji locked eyes with the former detective. “So, do you guys have any big plans for later tonight?” he said while giving Akechi a somewhat disturbing wink. Akira gave the two a confused look.

Akechi sighed and said “Yes.”

“Good, cause you know what happens tomorrow if you don’t!” Ryuji said in a singsong voice as the train pulled into the station.

The two pairs departed as one boarded the train to Kichijoji and the other walked over to another platform. Soon enough, Akira and Akechi were in Kichijoji and walking towards the newly opened restaurant just down the street from Penguin Sniper, where the two had spent many summer nights together as teenagers.

“Ahh memories.” Akira said as he looked at the billiards and darts club. “Remember when you would spend like every night right outside here in case I might show up?” Akira said as he gave Goro a smirk very reminiscent of Joker.

Goro glared back at Akira. “Well, I had many other reasons to be there, you know. I was a famous detective, after all. Perhaps I had some work duties to attend to there.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Akira replied. Goro only stopped glaring at him once they arrived at the restaurant.

The two were taken to their table, which was in a back corner away from the more crowded area of the restaurant to avoid someone recognizing Akechi. It cost Akechi a little extra to secure that particular table, but the absolute last thing he wanted to do before proposing to Akira was be reminded of who he was when they first met.

Soon enough, the waiter arrived and took their drink orders. Akira ordered a fancy glass of wine that he wouldn’t be able to afford under regular circumstances, while Akechi just took a water. He wanted to remain sober for when he popped the question.

“So,” Akira began once the waiter returned with their drinks, “what gave you the idea to take me out tonight?” Akira asked as he sipped from his wine.

“Am I not allowed to take my boyfriend out for a dinner without having some reason?” Akechi threw back at Akira.

“No, I was just curious.” Akira replied while giving Goro a suspicious face. Goro tried to remain calm, but inside he was panicking. _Does Akira know? I can’t ask him now, it won’t be a surprise, and he would want it to be a surprise._ He took as sip of water as he tried to stop overthinking everything. _Even if he knows, I still have to ask tonight. We both want to get married, whether or not it’s a surprise for him does not change that. And if I don’t ask, Ryuji will be posting disgusting images all over my twitter account!_ He brought his glass back down to the table. “So, how was your day today, other than your extremely boring class?”

“Oh! You will not believe what my professor said. He totally…” Akechi smiled as Akira began complaining about the shitty behaviour of his professor, both happy that his distraction had worked and that he got the chance to listen to his boyfriend talk.

The two talked back and forth as they waited for their meals, discussing Akira’s philosophy course (“You know, Goro, I always found it funny that you compared us to Hegel’s thesis and antithesis back when we first met, considering that would make our relationship the synthesis, according to him. I just think that’s kind of cute.”), the revelation that two of their friends were now in a relationship (“I think they work great together, as Ryuji has a kind of chaotic jock energy, and Yusuke has a chaotic artist energy. Combined, their chaotic energy would be unmatched.” Akira had explained to Goro after finishing his wine), as well as trying to figure out who was the better chess player (“I’ve won more matches!” Goro had nearly yelled, to which Akira replied with “Well I’ve been improving faster than you!”). It was some of the most fun they had both had in a long time, and hopefully, Goro could make it better, if all went well with the question.

Soon enough, their food arrived and was eaten, followed by desert, which the two happily devoured in seconds, and know the pair was back out in Kichijoji. Akira began heading in the direction of the train, but Akechi pulled him by the arm down the alley leading to Jazz Jin.

Akira smirked, “was there somewhere else you wanted to go, Goro?” Akira asked with big eyes and a shit-eating grin.

“Well, I thought since we were already here…” Goro said as they descended into the club.

Once inside, the owner, Muhen smiled wide at them and brought them over to their usual table. “Drinks on the house tonight, boys!” he said as the two sat down.

“What? We can’t accept that Muhen!” Akira protested.

“No no, anything for your specia….” The bartender trailed off as Akechi frantically made silent hand motions to get him to stop before he gave away what the plan was for later. Akechi knew revealing his plan for proposing to others was a less then great idea. “I mean, anything for two of my best customers on this beautiful night!”

“Oookay.” Akira said as the man walked away. Goro studied him, trying to figure out if he was on to Goro’s schemes. He liked to think he could read the former phantom thief well, but given that he never realized that Akira was on to Goro’s assassination plot, he knew not to place too much faith in that ability.

Luckily for Goro, Akira did not bring up any suspicions that he may or may not have. Instead, the two listened to the jazz singer perform while they idly chatted about the latest season of Featherman, and Akechi still tried to make it seem like he didn’t watch it religiously, even though Akira knew about his secret love for that show since they had started dating.

Once the two had finished their drinks, they left after giving Muhen a very generous tip, and made their way back to their apartment. On the train, Akira shifted so that he was resting his head on Akechi’s shoulder, and upon seeing this Goro gave him a very soft and loving smile as he wrapped his arm around him and pulled him in closer.

A couple stops later, and they had arrived at their stop, and made the short walk back to their apartment building. Akechi didn’t hold Akira’s hand as he didn’t want to reveal that he was shaking from a mix of anticipation and fear. _It’s now or never,_ he told himself. He reached into his pocket to make sure the ring was still there, and thankfully, no one had pickpocketed it while they were out.

Soon enough, they had reached there building and were riding the elevator back up. The ride was silent, with Akira and Goro glancing at each other repeatedly with a small smile, not saying anything.

The elevator made a noise as it reached their floor, and the two slowly made their way back to their apartment. Goro noticed that Akira had both his hands in his pockets and was looking ahead with the same determined look he had seen when they would fight together in the Metaverse. Goro didn’t spare it much of a thought however, as he was too focused on his own goals for once they reached the apartment.

The opened the door, walked in, and both made their way to the living room. Neither sat down.

“Akira, I…”

“Goro, I need to…”

They both chuckled. “You can go first.” Goro said, nodding to his boyfriend.

“Okay, thanks.” He said quietly. “Well, uh, we’ve been together for a long time,” he started, not meeting Goro’s eyes and fiddling with his bangs. “and the way things have been going is great.” Goro nodded. Akira then looked straight into Goro’s eyes. “But I think it’s time to take it to the next level.” He said with a small smirk.

“Next level….” Goro said with a puzzled voice, before Akira took hold of Goro’s hands and bent down on one knee. Goro was stunned silent, mouth agape.

“Goro, I love you more than anything. No one makes me feel as alive, or as heard, or as smart, or as strong as I do when I’m with you. I would do anything for you. I’ve technically changed reality for you.” He said with a small chuckle. “And I know you would do the same for me. There is no one else I can imagine spending the rest of my life with. So, Goro, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband?”

Akira reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, which he opened to reveal a beautiful golden ring, with the words “Joker & Crow” engraved on the inside.

Goro couldn’t speak for the first 20 seconds, before he opened his mouth and said “Asshole!”

Akira’s eyes widened. “Wha…” he began before Goro pulled out the ring box of his own.

“I was supposed to be proposing tonight! And you come along and steal all my thunder!” he said with a slight frown as he knelt down and opened his own ring box.

Akira was frozen for almost a minute before he burst out laughing. “Of course… this would… happen… to us!” he said in between laughs. Soon enough, Goro was laughing too, both so overcome by the coincidence, leaning close together and they continued laughing, ignoring the yells to shut up from beneath them.

Once the laughing had died down, Akira looked at Goro’s ring. “May I?” he asked, holding out his hand. Goro took the ring out of Akira to look at. He held it in front of his face, examining every detail, before he slid it onto his ring finger.

“So, is that a yes?” Goro asked hesitantly.

“That depends,” Akira replied, looking Goro in the eyes. “Did you prepare a confession of love for me?” he asked as he went back to examining what the ring looked like on his finger.

“Well, I don’t see how that’s necessary when….” Goro shut up after Akira gave him a stern look. “Okay, I shall recite the speech I prepared.

“Ever since I was a child, the only thing I had to live for was revenge against my father. I was blinded by hatred, and I wanted to tear down this world along with everyone who had ever hurt me. I never truly wanted to live.” Goro grabbed a hold of Akira’s hands. “But then, you came into my life, and for the first time, I felt, somewhat, happy when I was with you. You made me want to be a better person. You made me want to live again.” Goro paused to see that Akira’s eyes were watering up a little, although Goro couldn’t judge because his were too. “I would die for you, which I technically already have, and if anyone ever hurts you, I will bring a world of pain onto them. I wouldn’t be who I am today, hell, I wouldn’t be alive today if not for you, and I could not imagine going further in my life without you. So, Joker, will you marry me?”

Akira pulled his hand away to wipe a tear away from his eye before he leaned forward and kissed Goro. Goro leaned in, reaching a hand up to grab onto Akira’s curls. The kiss lasted for what felt like forever before they broke apart. “Yes, I will marry you.” Akira said with a wide smile and a light sob. “Will you marry me?” he asked, holding out the ring box of his own.

“Yes.” Goro said as Akira slid the ring onto his finger. Goro inspected how it looked on his finger. He had to hand it to Akira, he really knew how to pick out the perfect accessories.

Goro looked back up and into Akira’s eyes, and the two let out small giggles. “I guess we’re engaged now.” Akira said with a wide smile.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Goro replied. The two then kissed again, both reaching up to cup the back of each other’s head, pulling each closer together.

Once they broke apart once again, Goro smiled at Akira. “So, what do we do know?”

“I don’t know.” Akira replied, very read in the cheeks. He then looked back at Goro with a large smirk. “You know, I’ve heard post engagement sex is really great.”

Goro let out a small laugh. “Oh is it now?” he replied with a smirk of his own.

Akira stood up and pulled his new fiancé up with him. “Come on, let’s make out neighbors downstairs rue the day they decided piss us off.”

Akechi smiled, “I think I’m starting to rub off on you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akechi: *calls you asshole, but like, romantically*


	4. Epilogue

“We have an announcement…” Akira began with a wide smile as he squeezed Goro’s hand. “We’re engaged!” he cheered as he raised his hand, showing off the shiny new ring on his finger, while simultaneously lifting up Goro’s hand to show off his own ring. 

The café full of all the Phantom Thieves erupted with everyone trying to offer their congratulations at once. Goro barely managed to hear Sumire’s “I’m so happy for you, Senpais!” before Ryuji stood up, spilling his coffee onto the table, raised his hand to Akira and said “Yeah! High Five dude!” Akira obliged him. 

The couple accepted the calmer congratulations as Akira began to wipe up Ryuji’s spill. Ann began pestering them for details of how the engagement went while Yusuke demanded to have a look at their rings to assess their artistic merit. 

“… and once we got back to the apartment, well, turns out we had both decided to propose at the same time. And well, I guess the rest is history.” He said as he showed off his ring once again. 

“Hmm, the metal work on both of the pieces of jewelry is quite impressive. The two of you have a keen eye for engagement rings, it would seem.” Yusuke said as he finally let go of Goro’s hand, who quickly pulled it back to his chest with a confused look on his face.

“So Goro, when did you realize you wanted to marry Akira?” Ann asked as she leaned over the table to stare at Goro. 

Goro looked down with a small smile. “I’m not sure, I had wanted to marry him for a while, and then I saw that ring one day and decided to purchase it out of the blue.” He said as he looked at the ring of his own.

“Yeah, and then you waited like half a year to ask him..” Ryuji muttered under his breath before Akechi kicked him in the leg so hard Ryuji reacted by banging his knee into the table, causing all the other drinks to spill. 

“Quit it, Akechi!” Goro gave him a death glare in response, but Ryuji’s words did not escape Akira.

“6 months… Goro, what does he mean?” Akira asked as he tried to clean up Ryuji’s second spilling. 

Goro’s entire face turned the colour of a tomato while Ryuji snickered loudly. “Well, uhm… you see, I actually had the ring for a couple months already.” He confessed in a low voice. “I was just waiting for the right time.” 

Akira was quiet for a few seconds as he just stared at Goro. Ryuji kept snickering.

Soo enough, Goro was interrupted from staring at his own lap by Akira, who had hugged him from the side and planted a long kiss on his check. “Ahh, Honey, that’s so sweet!” When Goro raised his eyes, he could see that Akira had turned the same colour as him. “But you know I would have said yes no matter when you asked, right?” 

“yeah.” Goro let out in response. Akira smirked as he gave Goro another kiss on the cheek. Goro gave up on the possibility of his blush ever going away as Ann loudly said “aw!” 

“Wait…” Akira began, quickly moving away to look Goro in the eyes. “How did Ryuji know?” 

Goro’s and Ryuji’s eyes both went wide at the same instant. They both tried to speak but stumbled over their words. 

“Oh, you guys are totally hiding something!” Morgana yelled from the side. 

Akira gave Goro an intense, Joker-like stare. “Goro…” he began, not really needing to finish. 

“Well, Sakamoto and I had a deal going, about whether I could ask for your hand in marriage before the end of the week…” he said, eyes downturned. 

“Okay… and what is Ryuji’s part of the deal?”

“Well, he had to ask Kitagawa out.” Akechi said as Ryuji frantically tried to get him to stop speaking. Most of the group laughed at that. 

“What were the terms of this deal?” Makoto asked, ignoring both of the embarrassed looks from Ryuji and Goro.

“Whoever didn’t follow through would have to give up their social media accounts to the other for an hour.” 

“But, both of you did what you had to, so neither of you will have to give those up, will you? Makoto asked, to which both boys nodded. “I see.”

“Well hang on…” Akira began, with a puzzled look on his face. “If I recall correctly, I was the one who asked Goro first. He only brought out his ring after that.”

“Yes, but I still asked you.” Goro said with a serious look on his face. 

Meanwhile, Ryuji couldn’t seem more delighted. “No, no, I see what Akira’s getting at.” He said with a wide smile.

“I think I understand as well.” Makoto chimed in. “Because Akira asked first, you already would have known for certain that he would reply yes, so if you were to ask him it would be more symbolic, and not truly risking him saying no.” She said with a devilish smile.

“That’s the most idiotic argument I’ve ever heard.” Goro furrowed his brow as he looked around the table.

“I dunno Akechi,” Ryuji began, “seems to me like someone should be handing over their phone!” he said in a singsong voice. 

“Absolutely not!” Goro was standing up now. “I will not let you debase my social media portfolio over the most bullshit reason I’ve ever heard!”

“Why don’t we put it to a vote” Morgana said. “All who believe that Goro did not hold up his part of the agreement and should hand his phone over to Ryuji, say ‘aye.” 

The ayes won unanimously.

“Akira!” Goro turned to his fiancé, who was smirking at him. “Come one, control your team!” 

“Come on Goro, you lost, fair and square.” He said with a devilish smile. 

Goro stood in shock in for almost a full minute, before he eventually pulled his phone out of his pocket, put in his pin code and threw it across the table to Ryuji, who happily picked it up quickly and started tapping on its screen while laughing maniacally. 

Goro huffed as he sat pack down in his chair. “Why did I have to fall for you?” he whispered to Akira. 

After an hour of Ryuji tapping away at Goro’s phone, as well as everyone else cackling while looking at their own mobile devices, Goro finally was given his back. 

Obviously, he quickly looked at every single account of his, trying to start damage control as quickly as possible. First, on his list of favourite things to eat on his food blog, he saw that Ryuji had added the name ‘Joker’ to the top of the list. Goro quickly deleted that. Then, he found that every social media icon of his had been changed to a picture of him sulking as Ryuji wreaked havoc across his social accounts. Goro opened up his Twitter to find that the picture was already being shared by all of his former fans that he tried oh so hard to distance himself from. He also found that Ryuji had made almost 100 tweets in the past hour, with content consisting of ‘My long hair is actually a wig’ to ‘my new nickname is the pancake detective.’ 

Scrolling even further down, Goro found that Ryuji had tweeted multiple videos of Goro drunkenly attempting to sing Karaoke at Akira’s birthday party last year. The videos consisted of him slurring his way through multiple pop songs, before he eventually stopped mid song to run to the bathroom and throw up. 

Once he finished looking through all the altercations that Ryuji had made, Goro looked up to meet the culprit’s eyes. Ryuji was trying to hide his laughter, as seemed to be the common expression in the group. Goro, meanwhile, had a look of absolute rage. “I’ll get back at you for this, Sakamoto,” he said with a furrowed brow and a black mask-esque voice. “You better start sleeping with one eye open.” Akechi grew a devilish smile of his own as Ryuji gulped. “This is far from over.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all liked that!
> 
> I'll probably have some more chapters up in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!


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